She is nigh!

You know who I'm talking about, Willis! That's right, I'm talking about Miss SHOCKtobra herself, uh...SHOCKtober. I can't believe she is nigh and getting nigher by the moment. If you listen to my podcast Final Girl After Dark, then mayhaps you heard me announce my plans for this year already. If you don't listen to my podcast, well don't worry, I'm going to tell you my plans for this year in this post. Also if you don't listen to my podcast, I will assume you do not have ears because why else wouldn't you listen! Podcasts are all the cool rage this year, and I know you like to partake in cool rage activities (and, come Thanksgiving time, Blood Rage activities of course). 

I will have you know that I took some time mulling over whether or not to have another go at my super big mega countdown list of y'allses favorite horror movies. "It's been a couple of years since I did that," I thought, and then I actually checked and it turns out I did it last year. It felt so long ago and I was so floored that it'd only been a year! I went full slapping my cheeks Home Alone-style when I saw that it was the 2024 celebration. Honestly, I am kind of still slapping my cheeks Home Alone-style over that revelation; I am not sure if my not knowing it'd only been a year points to my brain beginning to fail me, or that time has been seriously fucked since 2020 (or 2000) or what, but regardless...YIKES.

So what to do then? Well, as 2025 is indeed a big year 'round these parts, seeing as it's the 20th anniversary of this blog and all, I thought it might be fun to go back to where the annual Miss SHOCKtobra Pageant began: the very first SHOCKtober of 2005. I watched and reviewed a movie every day during October 2005, and this year I'm going to be watching and reviewing all those same films again. (There are exceptions, which I'll get to in a moment!) Some of them I literally have not seen or even thought much about since I watched them in 2005. Others have become favorites, or simply movies I've seen a few times over the past 20 years. Here is the list, in case you want to watch along:

1. Alice, Sweet Alice (1976)
2. Phone (2002)
3. American Gothic (1987)
4. He Knows You're Alone (1980)
5. Body Bags (1993)
6. The Brood (1979)
7. Toolbox Murders (2004)
8. Dead & Buried (1981)
9. Graduation Day (1981)
10. Opera (1987)
11. The House on Sorority Row (1982)
12. The Sentinel (1977)
13. Stepfather II: Make Room for Daddy (1989)
14. Fade to Black (1980)
15. On this day in 2005 I did a marathon of the Friday the 13th franchise...I am not sure yet what I'll be doing on this day this year, but I can tell you I will not be doing a marathon of the Friday the 13th franchise!
16. The Ring Two (2005)
17. Of Unknown Origin (1983)
18. The Boogey Man (1980)
19. Raw Meat (aka Death Line) (1972)
20. Night School (1981)
21. The Prowler (1981)
22. The Final Terror (1983)
23. Girls Nite Out (1982)
24. Hide and Go Shriek (1988)
25. Frightmare (1974)
26. Night of the Living Dead (1990)
27. Pumpkinhead (1988)
28. On this day I watched a very bad movie called Miner's Massacre (it had Karen Black in it, okay!!) but that movie doesn't seem to be readily available anymore and I'm not about to go searching too hard or spending any money on a copy. I think we will all be okay without a revisit to Miner's Massacre! In its place, I've asked Final Mom to choose the movie I review. I don't know what that is yet, but I'm willing to bet it will be better than Miner's Massacre! (Sorry to all the Miner's Massacre fans out there.) (And to Karen Black.) (RIP.) (You know what, I bet she would agree with my stance re: Miner's Massacre.)
29. On this day in 2005 I did a marathon of the Halloween franchise...I am not sure yet what I'll be doing on this day this year, but I can tell you I will not be doing a marathon of the Halloween franchise!
30. Demons (1985)
31. Alone in the Dark (1982)

So there you have it! What a month, eh? Ah, I remember how pumped I was all those years ago as I geared up for this. I bought a bunch of random shitty VHS tapes of stuff, lined up my Netflix DVD queue, and made several trips to the video store. What a different time it was! Watching all the films pile up, ready to be watched--the majority of them for the first time--and say something about them on The Internet! It felt like such a monumental endeavor and it was honestly very exciting.

And I'm excited for this go-round. Just...the joy of talking about horror movies, you know? We could all use some of that, I think. Things are pretty dire out there and The Internet is really just an eternal Two Minutes Hate machine nowadays, so I'm really looking forward to lighting this place up like it's 2005 all over again. And of course there will also be new episodes of Final Girl After Dark every Wednesday--to celebrate SHOCKtober, I'll be talking about a horror movie starring a Real Housewife each week. Now That's What I Call Exciting, Volume Podcast!

Some of these movies I've talked about so many times in so many places (I'm looking at you, The Sentinel) that I'm honestly not sure how much I'll have to say about 'em when it's their turn to shine, but we'll see. I'm curious if my feelings will change one way or another about films I haven't seen since 2005 (I'm looking at you, Toolbox Murders) (And you, The Boogey Man.). I can't wait for Stepfather II and Of Unknown Origin! Also wow, the list is so slasher-heavy...but when I started this blog it was solely about slasher flicks so I guess it makes sense, doesn't it? Lawd, I can't believe I did two 24-hour franchise marathons amongst everything else. Again what a different time it was!

I said it all the way back in 2005 and I'll say it again now:

Lock your doors...bolt your windows...pull up your pants...it's time for...

SHOCKtober!